Joanna Jedrzejczyk held the UFC strawweight championship for nearly three years before she was shockingly defeated by Rose Namajunas. Now, more than two years after her historic title reign ended, Jedrzejczyk is being positioned for another shot at the title. According to a report by MMA Fighting, Jedrzejczyk will challenge current 115-pound champ Weili Zhang at UFC 248 on March 7.
Zhang (20-1) captured the championship with a stunning 42-second knockout of Jessica Andrade in an August bout that took place in Shenzhen, China. With the win, Zhang made history of her own by becoming the first Chinese UFC champion. She has won 20 consecutive fights since losing her professional debut, including four consecutive victories inside the Octagon.
Jedrzejczyk (16-3) defeated Claudia Gadelha in December 2014, capturing the UFC strawweight belt in only her second fight in UFC. After six successful title defenses, which ran her career record to a perfect 14-0, Jedrzejczyk suffered her first loss to Namajunas. She would go on to lose the rematch to the former champ, and has a 2-3 record in her five most recent fights.
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UFC 248 does not yet have a set location or venue. Two of Zhang's four UFC bouts have taken place in China.
More UFC news, rumors
- With Jon Jones set to put the light heavyweight championship on the line against Dominick Reyes, UFC appears to be setting up a fight to determine the next man up for a title shot. According to an ESPN report, UFC is close to finalizing a deal for Jan Blachowicz and Corey Anderson to meet at UFC Fight Night New Mexico on Feb. 15. Anderson is coming off a stunning knockout win over Johnny Walker at UFC 244, while Blachowicz won a sleepy affair against Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza in Brazil.
- Brad Tavares vs. Antonio Carlos Junior is likely to go down March 14 at UFC Brasilia, according to MMA Fighting. Tavares has lost two straight fights while Carlos Junior is in the same boat.
- UFC Raleigh has added several bouts for Jan. 25. Brianna Van Buren will meet Hannah Cifers at strawweight and flyweights Jordan Espinosa and Alex Perez will do battle. The promotion announced the fights via press release.
